Foxconn staff threaten mass suicide

Posted January 11, 2012 - 08:33
by
Kate Taylor

Three hundred staff at a plant building the Xbox 360 have been threatening mass suicide over pay and conditions, according to local reports.

Staff at a Foxconn plant - yes, them again - in Wuhan, China, say the company's failed to pay them wages they're owed. When they were moved to a new production line, they say, they were misled over their options.

First, they were given the choice of redundancy with a month's pay for every year of service. However when many chose to quit, Foxconn allegedly gave them nothing.

The factory's reported to make parts for the Xbox 360, as well as casings for Acer notebooks.

The Wuhan workers threatened to do the same if their demands were not met. They spent the night on the factory roof, temporarily halting production. However, the situation was eventually resolved through the intervention of local government officials, and the workers were coaxed down from the roof.